Dancing On The Wings Of Angels
by Queequg471
Summary: Crying out, do you hear that sound? I never thought it'd come to this, paradise raised to the ground. The thunder has begun. B/B.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I got a great response on my story **_**As The Wind Blows**_**, so this is a story that's kind of in the same universe as that one, two years into the future. This fic centers on Booth and Brennan's family, but includes the squints and most of the main characters. It's going to be a multi-chapter fic, with a major plot twist that I've planned (rare thing for me to know where my stories are going ********) So enjoy, and please review! **

****

_Thump._

Temperance Brennan awoke with a start at the sudden impact deposited on her bed. Groaning, she reached out and felt around her bed for the new occupant. Finding nothing except her partner on the other side, she lay back down and closed her eyes again. Suddenly, she felt a small body climb on her back, then her nose filled with the scent of blueberry baby shampoo.

"Mama up!" piped a tiny voice as soft little hands pushed at Brennan's shoulders.

Brennan let out another groan. "Sebastian, baby, Mama's sleeping."

"No, Mama, up! Time get up!"

Brennan sighed wearily and slowly pushed herself up in bed. Leaning over, she tousled her two-year-old son's soft brown curls and pulled him into her arms. He had always been an early riser. Brennan had never been a sound sleeper before Sebastian was born. Little time was spent sleeping, as most of her time was taken up with work. But now, with a rapidly growing two-year-old, sleep seemed a precious luxury she seemed to get even less of then before.

That said, Brennan loved being a mother. She had not expected to get pregnant, and abortion had crossed her mind. She told herself she knew nothing about being a parent, much less a good one. Her partner would stay, she knew that, and he would be a wonderful father to their child. Still, how could she be a good mother when her own mother had abandoned her at 15? Looking at Sebastian now, however, Brennan felt a stab of guilt at the notion that she had even considered abortion. She could not imagine now not having her precocious little son here. The little boy that everyone always told her was a duplicate of her, was the light of herself and her partner's life.

Brennan cuddled in the warm bed with her son for a few moments, running her fingers through his brown baby curls. Sebastian lay quietly in her arms for a few moments, then began squirming, kicking his legs and slapping his hands together. Brennan shifted her son to look into his blue eyes.

"Do you want to wake Daddy up, bugs?" she asked.

Nodding eagerly, Sebastian ran and pounced on his father, climbing on top of him and shouting in a singsong "Up Daddy, up Daddy, up, up, up!"

Seeley Booth groaned and stretched out his arm, catching the toddler.

"I have a Sebastian monster on me!" he said playfully, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He leaned into the child's face, nose to nose.

"Well, luckily Daddy knows how to take care of Sebastian monsters. Tickle!" he cried, tickling the little boy as he squirmed and kicked and laughed.

Brennan glanced over at the clock, which read 6:17. Smiling, she reached out and pulled her partner's arm off their son.

"Alright, we've got to start getting ready," she informed them. "Last time we were late for daycare because he takes so long to get going."

Booth obediently picked up his son in his arms.

"Okay, buddy, let's start getting ready."

He moved to lift them both off the bed, but Sebastian was staring at his mother with his patented pout look, eyes wide with his lower lip jutting out plaintively.

"Pleeeaaassee no daycare, I go to work with Mama today?"

Brennan steeled herself against her son's best pleading look. For one who so many thought was cold, the child's pouting face worked on her nearly every time. Looking away, she shook her head.

"Baby, Mama has to go to work by herself today. Besides, you have fun at daycare, with all of your friends."

Sebastian's lower lip trembled. "No, I go to Mama's work!"

He hoisted himself out of his father's arms and crawled into his mother's lap. Placing his little hands on either side of her face, he directed her face so he was looking directly into her eyes.

"Love you, Mama. Pllleeeaaassee?"

Brennan sighed.

"Alright. But just for the morning, afternoon you're going back to daycare."

Sebastian's face immediately lifted into a bright smile, and he jumped up and down on the bed in excitement. Laughing, Booth caught the boy and set him on the ground.

"Go to your room, okay Bugs? Daddy'll be there in a minute to help you get dressed."

With a nod, Sebastian ran off.

Booth chuckled and lowered himself to the bed.

"The pouting face works on you every time, huh Bones?"

"Shut up." Brennan said with a smile.

Booth positioned himself so he was propping himself up on one arm, lying beside Brennan.

"So, Sebastian gets to spend all morning and all evening with Mama. The squints get to spend all afternoon with Mama. When does Daddy get some alone time with Mama?" he asked, looking at her with the same plaintive look their son wore.

Brennan shook her head with a laugh.

"_Maybe_, if Daddy gets his son ready in the next forty-five minutes, Mama could make an hour for Daddy tonight." Leaning in closer, she whispered "maybe two."

Booth was out of the bed and taking off out of the room less than two seconds later.

"Faster than Rocket Richard, Bones!" he called.

"I don't know what that means!" she called back.

"Okay, baby," Brennan began, as she held her son's hand and swiped them both onto the platform. "Remember, this is a big place, so you have to stay – "

"Aunt Cam!" Sebastian yelled, taking off for his aunt before Brennan could finish her sentence.

" – with me." Brennan trailed off.

Camille Saroyan dropped the tools she was holding and held out her arms to receive the little boy as he barrelled toward her. Sebastian thrust himself into his aunt's arms, and Cam scooped him up, laughing and kissing his cheek.

"Hey tiger! Did Mommy let you miss daycare today?"

Sebastian nodded feverently.

"Well, in that case, why doesn't Aunt Cam take you to see the museum while Mommy does some work?"

"Thanks, Cam." Brennan said gratefully.

"No problem." Cam replied, taking the toddler and his backpack. Sniffing the air, she stopped short and sniffed Sebastian's backside.

"Hold on there, tiger. I think Aunt Cam's going to have to give you a quick diaper change first."

Cam laid her nephew on one of the tables and quickly completed the task that used to make her too squeamish to accomplish. While she was snapping up his pants, she frowned.

"Hey Brennan!" Cam called.

Brennan jogged over and peered down at where Cam was pointing at her son's legs.

"He's got a lot of bruises." Cam observed.

Brennan nodded. "Have you been falling a lot at daycare, baby?"

Sebastian nodded absently; more interested in the lights underneath the table then the bruises. Cam shrugged as she snapped up his pants.

"It's not uncommon for a two-year-old to fall often. It's probably nothing."

Brennan nodded. She picked Sebastian up and kissed his head, before handing him to Cam.

"Alright, you go have fun with Aunt Cam, baby, but remember, Mama's taking you back to daycare this afternoon."

" 'Kay, Mama!" Sebastian chirped as Cam carried him off. They wandered off down the hall, but Brennan could hear her son singing.

"See metacarpals, see metatarsals, see phalanges..."

****

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for your reviews on my last story. Reviews here please! *makes face into pouty, pleading expression described above***


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter two. Does anyone know how to put a line in signifying a break in the story? Help would be appreciated. Reviews get you a cookie! Telepathically, of course. I find it best for everyone that way....**

**(Break)**

"What time is it?" Brennan asked, stretching her back out.

Hodgins, who was mid-conspiracy theory, turned from a bored-looking Cam and checked his watch.

"Five-thirty," he replied.

Brennan cursed softly. "Sebastian needs to be picked up by six, but these bodies need to be identified by tomorrow. There's no way I'll make it there on time."

"Can't Booth get him?"

"No, he's in a briefing for the next few hours."

"I'll get him." Hodgins offered.

Brennan sighed in relief. "Thanks, Hodgins."

"No problem," Hodgins replied, watching Brennan as she dropped her head and shut her eyes.

"You tired, sweetie?" Angela asked, scrutinizing the dark bags under her friend's eyes.

Brennan sighed deeply. "Yes," she mumbled. "Sebastian hasn't been feeling well lately."

"He's sick? Since when?" Cam asked.

"The past week or so. He's been lethargic, he refuses to eat, and he sleeps frequently. It's beginning to render me somewhat worried, I must admit. He's been sick before, but it always passes within a few days."

"What do you think it is?" asked Angela.

"I've got an appointment with the paediatrician in a few days. In the meantime, I will simply have to get by on even less sleep then I usually get. I'm sure it's just a common strain of influenza though. Anthropologically, mothers have culturally been known to worry needlessly about their offspring. It stems from the role relegated to the mother of caregiver and food provider. Mothers sustain the life of their offspring, so when one of them contracts an ailment it represents failure to provide in the mother's eyes, causing overcompensations. "

There was a long pause, until Hodgins finally broke it.

"Okkkaaayyy...let me go get that kid of yours, and you can commence with your....overcompensation."

**(Break)**

"Hi, Dr. Hodgins," Miss Theresa, Sebastian's daycare teacher, greeted Hodgins as he entered the room.

Hodgins nodded in greeting and strode over to where Sebastian was leaning on the edge of the couch, thumb in his mouth, while the teacher read him a story.

"Hey, bugs!" he greeted the toddler.

Looking up, Sebastian smiled and held his arms up. Hodgins obligingly picked him up, and Sebastian laid his head on Hodgins's shoulder, one little hand tangling in Hodgins's hair.

"Uncle Hodgy. Mama." he mumbled.

Hodgins passed a hand through the toddler's curls.

"Yeah, bugs, we're going to go see if Mama's done her work."

"See mama."

**(Break)**

As soon as Hodgins swiped himself and Sebastian onto the platform, the boy lifted his head from Hodgins's shoulder, his eyes scouring the platform. Almost immediately, his eyes landed on Brennan.

"Mama!" he called, stretching out his arms for his mother.

Brennan made some final notes and jogged over to Hodgins and Sebastian. By this time, the toddler was becoming more and more insistent, holding his arms out as far as they would reach and wiggling his fingers, leaning towards his mother.

Brennan leaned forward and accepted her son into her arms. Sebastian buried his face in his mother's shoulder and stretched both arms around her neck.

Brennan's eyes narrowed as she felt how warm her son was. Shifting him onto one hip, she pressed a hand to his forehead.

"You're warm, baby. Your core body temperature seems to be elevated, most likely due to a common strain of influenza."

"Squint, Mama. I sick." Sebastian mumbled.

Brennan pressed her forehead against the child's.

"I know, baby. But Mama can't get you home right now, so you're going to have to stay with me, okay?

Sebastian nodded against Brennan's neck.

For the next hour, Brennan made final notes, consulted with other colleagues, and argued with her publisher about the details of her next book. All the while, Sebastian slept against her shoulder. Several of the squints had already come up to her, trying to take Sebastian off Brennan's hands, but the child would simply whine and cling to his mother. After awhile, Cam cut in.

"Go home, Dr. Brennan. We can take over from here. Wendell can finish up the analysis and we'll call you if there's any news. Take this guy home."

Brennan nodded appreciatively, and carried the boy off the platform.

**(Break)**

Brennan jolted awake with a start. Nothing had woken her, except the feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling she recognized – dread. Something was very wrong.

Brennan sprang out of bed, waking Booth, who grunted incoherently, opening his eyes a slit to peer at his partner.

"Bones. Whatcha doin'," he mumbled.

Brennan shook her head. "Something's wrong, Booth."

"What?"

"I don't know _what_, Booth, but something is."

Booth groaned and wearily swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Alright," he grumbled. "I'll go check downstairs."

Brennan watched him stumble from the room and sat down again on her bed. She honestly didn't know why she had this feeling building in her stomach, but it ate at her as she sat there, unable to sleep.

Several minutes later she heard Booth shuffle up the stairs and back into their room and felt him collapse down on the bed next to her and loop an arm around her waist.

"Nothin' there. Back to bed, Bones."

Brennan gave a tiny nod, then jumped off the bed again, eliciting another groan from Booth.

"Three-thirty in the mornin', Bones."

"I know, I'm just going to check on Sebastian quick," said Brennan as she left the room.

Sebastian's room was quiet and cool as Brennan entered. The walls Angela had painted were a pale blue, with murals of trucks and animals, and the room smelled of baby powder. Brennan made her way over to her son's crib, looking down on him. She reached down to her sleeping son to brush some hair away from his face. Brennan brought her hand up then froze. Her hand was wet. Did Sebastian have a dirty diaper? He had outgrown waking up for diaper changes long ago...

Brennan brought her fingers to her nose and sniffed. The liquid on her fingers was odourless. Curiosity got the better of her, and she switched on the toddler's bedside light. Sebastian flinched at the sudden light and groaned, but only opened his eyes a slit. Brennan barely noticed, however, instead looking in shock and horror and the pool of liquid under her little son's head.

"BOOTH!" she yelled. The urgency in her voice must have immediately alerted Booth, because he came jogging in less than a minute later.

"What's wrong, Bones?"

Wordlessly, Brennan held up her hand and pointed to the mattress. Her hand, the mattress, and one side of Sebastian's head were caked in blood.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! Here's chapter three.**

Temperance Brennan was a rational person. Hyper-rational, some even said. She saw every human vice and could categorize it as having anthropological precedent, she could compartmentalize anything and everything in her life, no matter how minute, and she could remove herself emotionally from any situation she came across. Temperance Brennan was a rational person, because Temperance Brennan had seen everything that could possibly destroy her.

That is, she thought she had.

She thought she had, until she saw her baby lying down in his crib, covered with blood. At that moment, all rationale flew out the window, with Booth's softly uttered "Oh my god..."

"Sebastian! Sebastian, baby, wake up, look at Mama!"

She snatched her son out of his crib and clutched him to her, blood smearing all over her pyjamas. She rocked Sebastian back and forth, barely able to look at him. So much blood...

Dimly, she heard Booth calling her name, but she was so frozen in shock. Suddenly, she felt hands grip her shoulders.

"Bones, Bones, look here, listen!"

Her head snapped around to her partner as he grabbed a handful of wipes and pressed them to the limp toddler's face. Sebastian lay weakly in his mother's arms, his body still blazing with fever. Brennan heard her partner's words swell around her, still in shock.

"....blood's coming from his nose, Bones. He's having a nosebleed..."

At this, Brennan snapped to attention. A nosebleed? Her mind flashed back to the times recently where she had wiped small drops of blood from Sebastian's nose, thinking nothing more of it then the result of Sebastian wiping his nose too frequently. How could they get from there to here, with both of them sporting blood-stained clothes?

"A...a nosebleed?" she stammered.

Booth nodded, moving to take Sebastian out of Brennan's arms, but she clung tight.

"Booth, something's wrong with him," Brennan whispered, her voice trembling in fear.

"Because of the nosebleed?" Booth asked.

Brennan shook her head.

"I've seen him have nosebleeds before, in the last few weeks. He's getting new bruises every day, he refuses to eat, he's nauseous, he sleeps often, and now he has a nosebleed so bad he wakes up covered in blood." Brennan hid her face in Sebastian's soft curls, rocking them back and forth for a minute.

"He's got to go to the doctor. Something's wrong, Booth. I know it."

Booth nodded, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down Brennan's arm, before reaching over and planting a kiss on Sebastian's head and smoothing his hair.

They sat that way for several minutes, Booth stroking Sebastian's hair, Brennan rocking their son, her head resting on Booth's shoulder.

"The blood's stopped, Bones." Booth said finally.

Brennan gave a slight nod, some semblance of her usual efficient demeanour coming back. She rose from the rocking chair, Sebastian still cradled in her arms.

"Can you get some new sheets for his crib? I'll go run him a bath and clean him up."

Booth nodded and before long, Sebastian was clean, dry and ready to go back to bed. Brennan had also changed her bloodstained pyjamas.

"Mama, up." Sebastian mumbled, holding his arms up for his mother.

Brennan picked him up and cradled him against her as Booth came back. Sebastian reached out his arms for his daddy, and Booth took him and held him.

"Hey buddy, why don't you sleep in here with me and Mommy tonight, huh?"

Sebastian nodded, burying his face in his father's neck. Booth carried him over to the bed and set him down between himself and Brennan. Sebastian's mouth opened wide in a yawn, and he snuggled down into the pillow, falling asleep almost instantly.

Booth stared down at his son, stroking his cheek. A flash of worry shot through him as he took in the child's flushed cheeks. Maybe Brennan was right. Sebastian should see a doctor, if only to alleviate his partner's worrying. Parker had nosebleeds sometimes when he was a toddler, but they were never so bad for him to wake up covered in blood.

Sebastian suddenly jerked and mumbled in his sleep. His eyes opened a slit, then closed again. Booth looked up at Brennan.

"Cyclonic jerks," Brennan explained sleepily, snuggling down into her pillow. "Caused by the sudden contraction of the muscles when falling asleep. It has been theorized that it's caused when respiration rate falls in preparation for sleep, and the brain interprets the signals as the body dying, causing the muscles to contract in order to jerk the body awake."

Booth stared at her for several seconds.

"What?" she mumbled.

Booth shook his head and smiled. He reached out his head and stroked his partner's hair. She smiled and placed her hand over his.

"He'll be okay, right Booth?" she asked, uncertainty creeping into her voice. Booth smiled.

"He is his mother's son, Bones," he replied, getting a smile out of her. "Like you always say, we won't worry until we have to."

Brennan nodded, still unsure but slightly reassured. Looking down at her sleeping son, she brushed a hand over his head. The scientist in her was telling her that Booth was right, that jumping to any conclusions would be irrational and presumptuous.

But the mother in her made her lift her son onto her chest and cuddle him close, whispering softly into his ear.

"It's going to be okay, baby. Mama's not going to let anything happen to you, I promise."

**A/N: You know you want to review. You know the button is just begging to be pushed. I'm sure there's an anthropological precedent in review pushing, so you really shouldn't fight it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to all of you for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry if it's a little bit of a filler chapter. It'll pick up, I promise!**

**Disclaimer: As if I'm Hart Hanson. Don't own 'em. **

**(Break)**

"Dr. Brennan?" a nurse called.

Brennan looked from where she sat, hands tightly clenched in her lap. Sebastian sat at Brennan's feet, looking through a colourful children's book that Brennan had brought with her (Booth always teased her about how many "squint stuff for kids" she kept on hand, but Brennan insisted that they 'enriched the toddler's mind'.).

That morning had been hectic, to say the least. Brennan had to push all her morning plans out of the way to get Sebastian an appointment with the paediatrician at the last minute. As she herself put it, having an invaluable skill was an advantage to hold over her superiors, allowing her schedule to change at her convenience. However, try as Booth might, he couldn't get the morning off. So Brennan had left with Sebastian and the promise to call Booth immediately if the doctor so much as suspected something was wrong with their son.

Now, as Brennan picked up Sebastian and carried him down the hall, she felt her already knotted stomach tighten further, instinctively cuddling her son close to her. She was shown into a small room with two hard chairs and an exam table. Brennan sat stiffly in a chair, took out Sebastian's book and began to read it to him. She had no sooner gotten halfway through then an older man swept into the room.

"Sebastian Booth?"

Brennan nodded. The doctor came into the room and sat down on his chair. For minutes he was silent, making notes in his chart. Then he turned to Brennan, speaking in a slow, superior voice. Brennan disliked him instantly.

"So according to our records, your son was born in – " he paused briefly to check his notes "- April of2013, correct?"

Brennan nodded. The doctor peered down his nose at her.

"And you say he's been developing bruises, he's lethargic and nauseous and has had a few nosebleeds?"

Brennan confirmed this with a nod. "He's usually a very outgoing child. It worries me that he has suddenly slowed down."

The doctor sighed and closed the file.

"Ma'am, I hate to say it, but this is fairly typical behaviour for a two-year-old. Their bodies are growing so rapidly at this stage that sometimes they need to slow down for awhile to catch up with themselves. It's normal to worry, but your son's symptoms seem fairly minor. In my opinion, he's probably contracted a common strain of influenza, it's just taking it's time to clear up."

"No. You're wrong." The ferocity with which it came out even surprised Brennan.

The doctor rocked back, his eyes reflecting surprise for a few seconds. He held out his hands in a placating manner.

"Mrs. Booth – "

"It's _Dr. Brennan_.I know my son. I know when he's just slightly ill and when something is wrong with him. And I _know_ something is wrong. I _know _something is wrong when my son wakes up with a nosebleed bad enough to cover him in blood." She paused, checking the doctor's nametag, which read _Dr. Pepper._

"I have many friends in high places, Dr. Pepper. I want my son to have the best care available. And I am _not_ leaving here until he is properly examined."

Dr. Pepper was silent for a moment, before resignation took over his features. He reached for the child, presumably to put him on the exam table, but Brennan yanked Sebastian away and set him on the table herself.

The doctor listened to the toddler's heart, checked in his ears and mouth and tested his reflexes. He slung his stethoscope around his neck and turned to Brennan.

"Aside from being a little lethargic like you mentioned, his stomach looks a little swollen," the doctor mused, pressing gently against the child's abdomen. Sebastian groaned softly but sat still. Brennan couldn't resist taking his hand and stroking it soothingly.

"Run blood tests." Brennan's voice was adamant.

Dr. Pepper sighed. "In all honestly, Dr. Brennan, a slightly distended abdomen is no cause for..."

"Run. The. Tests."

This time, he looked slightly annoyed, the product of dealing with too many overprotective mothers, Brennan guessed. Still, he got up and fetched a needle kit out of the room next door.

Brennan knelt down beside Sebastian. "Okay, baby, I know you might feel slightly unsettled at this prospect, but it's only a slight penetration of the skin, and its duration is only a few seconds. I promise."

Sebastian looked at her with steady blue eyes for a moment.

"Don' be scared, Mama."

At his words, Brennan nearly burst into tears. Her two-year-old son was not only unafraid of something that scared many children his age, but was actually comforting _her_. Brennan sat lightly on the table and buried her nose in his hair, breathing in the scent of blueberry baby shampoo.

**(Break)**

Two hours later, Brennan's cell phone rang.

"Dr. Brennan?"

"Speaking."

"This is Dr. Pepper. I'm calling about Sebastian's blood test results."

Brennan felt her stomach knot again. The doctor's voice was hesitant, as if he were forcing himself to deliver news he did not want to deliver. She reached out from where she sat on the floor and pulled Sebastian onto her lap.

"Yes?" she managed to squeak out.

A sigh could be heard over the phone.

"Dr. Brennan, the blood test results showed an...abnormally high white count."

Brennan froze, instantly running through the list of possibilities that could indicate.

"That could mean anything," she said, defensiveness creeping into her voice.

Dr. Pepper's pause was longer this time.

"Yes, it could. But, Dr. Brennan, what I'm suggesting right now is...you should bring Sebastian to the hospital. Let them run more tests."

That was as much as Brennan heard as she hung up the phone. She frantically tried to shove away the panic as it pushed at her, and she dialed a familiar number on the phone, needing to hear the voice of the one person who could always calm her down.

"Booth? It's me. I think....I think it's time to worry now."

**(Break)**

**A/N: In the wise (slightly modified) words of the great Chandler Bing: The fifth psychiatrist caved and now they're all recommending reviewing. You heard 'em, folks. You can't make this stuff up. No need to put your mental well-being at risk.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Wow, I don't even want to count how long it's been. My laptop has been broken for a month and I had to replace the hard drive, and I was having huge writer's block on this story, plus I've been working like crazy to save for school. Stupid school. School is stupid.**

**Anyway, many apologies, I'm doing my best to update my ongoing stories in the near future. Enjoy this chapter!**

****

"You want to _what_?"

The doctor sitting across from Brennan and Booth gently reiterated.

"In order to confirm our suspicions and get a definitive diagnosis, Dr. Brennan, we need to perform a bone marrow aspiration, which simply means…"

"I _know_ what it means!" said Brennan, unable to help the accusatory tone that crept into her voice. "You want to stick a needle into my child's iliac bone!"

Her arms wound tighter around Sebastian, who was sleeping peacefully in her lap, oblivious to the gravity of the situation.

The doctor let out a patient sigh, and Brennan felt Booth's hand wrap around her own. Almost unconsciously, she leaned against his shoulder, a tidal wave of emotions crashing over her.

"Dr. Brennan, I'm sure I can't even begin to imagine how frightening this must be for you and your husband. But I must be blunt. Something is wrong with your little boy. And in order to treat him, we need to have a definitive diagnosis. If there were any other way to confirm it, I would not make you put him through this. However, there is not."

There was a long pause in the room, broken by Booth.

"Do you…do you put him under…for a test like this?"

"Yes. For a child as young as Sebastian, anesthesia is used. We draw a small sample of the bone marrow, then send it to Pathology, which gives us a definitive diagnosis."

"Shows if the cancer has spread," Brennan whispered.

"If it _is_ indeed cancer…then yes," the doctor confirmed. "We would need to know if it has spread, and if so, how far."

At that moment, Brennan felt Sebastian stir and start to open his eyes. He looked around the unfamiliar room, pressing himself closer to his mother.

"Mama, tired," he yawned.

Brennan lifted him over her shoulder, where he quickly fell asleep again. For a moment, she turned her face into his hair, breathing in his smell. She felt Booth reach around her and pull both of them into an embrace. Brennan felt the tears run freely down her face as she tightly embraced her family. Her family. She never thought she'd be in such a long-term relationship, much less have a child and be part of her own family. Now that she was, though, fear surged through her. What if…what if they lost Sebastian? What if the family she loved so much was torn apart?

Brennan felt the child press a wet kiss to her cheek, and she squeezed her son tighter. They'd fight. They'd fight for their son's life and for their family. She lifted her head as she felt Booth lift his also. Their eyes locked and Brennan knew he understood.

She looked to the doctor and nodded. "Let's do the procedure."

****

"Sweetie!"

Brennan's head snapped around at Angela's voice. The artist was running down the hospital hallway, followed by Hodgins, Cam and Wendell. As soon as Angela reached Brennan, she threw her arms around her best friend, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Brennan, still unaccustomed to hugs, patted Angela awkwardly on the back.

"Sweetie, what's going on? We got a message that they were sending the little one to the hospital! We got here as quick as we could. What's going on? Is he alright? What's wrong with him?"

None of Angela's questions were sinking into Brennan's already overwhelmed mind. She felt Hodgins' blue eyes look her over carefully, as he stepped in, laying a hand on Angela's arm, effectively stopping the stream of questions.

"Ange, why don't we sit down? I don't think Dr. B. is ready for an interrogation right now. Let's see what the doctors say."

Angela immediately looked remorseful as Hodgins led her over to a chair. Cam came up to Brennan, standing awkwardly before her.

"How are you, Dr. Brennan?"

Brennan sighed with exhaustion, looking at her friend. "They're doing a bone marrow aspiration."

Cam's face blanched. "C…cancer?"

Brennan gave a tiny nod. "They think so."

All the rational scientist seemed to leave Cam in a rush.

"But…but he's so young."

"Can happen at any age," Brennan whispered.

Just then, a nurse came over to the group, laying her hand gently on Brennan's arm to get her attention.

"Dr. Brennan? The procedure went very well. Your son is being transferred back to his room. I can take your husband up to see him as soon as you're ready."

Brennan nodded. "Booth's filling out paperwork. He should be here any minute."

At that moment, Brennan felt a hand wrap around her waist. Instinctively, she tensed, but instantly relaxed as she felt Booth unwrap his arm and take her hand instead.

The squints stood, and gathered around Booth and Brennan with reassuring words and comforting pats that did nothing to soothe the knot in Brennan's stomach as the nurse beckoned Booth and Brennan to follow her. The squints stayed back, after Booth and Brennan promising to call them with any news on Sebastian.

Brennan and Booth were led to a plain white room, with a bathroom, a dresser, and a crib pushed against a wall. They crept over to the crib and looked down at their sleeping son. Sebastian lay on his back, sedated and sleeping. Brennan let a hand brush over her son's hair, and couldn't resist lifting his hospital gown slightly to check his wound. The toddler's left hipbone was padded with white gauze that Brennan didn't dare move.

In the crib, in the big room, Brennan was struck by how small and fragile Sebastian looked, like something that could shatter in an instant. The lump forming in her throat was choking her. She felt the bile rising in the back of her throat, and she barely managed to make it to the bathroom before she found herself vomiting again and again into the toilet. She was dimly aware of a hand smoothing her hair back, and a wet cloth being pressed to her cheeks. When she was sure she had vomited her insides out, however irrational it sounded, she finally slumped down to the floor, Booth's arms catching her.

"What happened, Bones?" she heard him whisper.

Brennan shook her head weakly. "I don't…I don't know. He just looks so…breakable there."

"No," Booth shook his head. "Not just now. I mean recently. You always look tired, but you get well enough sleep, now you're throwing up for no apparent reason."

"My son is in the _hospital._" Brennan said defensively.

"_Our_ son. And I realize that, but…" Booth was cut off by the sound of the door opening, and the doctor's voice calling out their names. Booth stood and started to pull Brennan to her feet, but she shook him off and stood shakily. They made their way back to Sebastian's crib and shook hands with the doctor. Booth peered at his face, his stomach clenching when he realized the doctor looked slightly apprehensive.

"Mr. and Mrs. Booth…we have the results of your son's bone marrow aspiration."

****

**A/N #2: Anthropology encourages reviewing. It would make Brennan very proud, I'm sure. It's totally rational to review, as humans we depend on feedback both positive and negative, to change how we view ourselves, and therefore what we produce, and in that way what we write. Can't argue with logic folks. Pleeeease?**


	6. Chapter 6

**I have an excuse, I swear! I know it's been forever, but I was away at a job for a month, then I went on vacation with no internet access. Much apologies, I hope this chapter suffices for now.**

**This chapter is for MightyTemperance, because I would never have finished it if you hadn't reminded me. Thank you!**

****

There are many unchangeables in the world. Truth, space, knowledge. And time. Imposed constructs, she had told Stires, those things that don't change. All logical sense pointed to the fact that time never changed. It simply _was_. One moment was followed by the next, then the one after that, the one after that, and so on.

So Brennan couldn't understand why she felt suspended perpetually in this one moment. The one moment the new doctor told them deadly cancer cells were taking over her son's tiny body. Cells his body was unable to fight. Cells that could _kill _him.

Knowing it was irrational, Brennan couldn't help but feel a certain sense of betrayal. All her adult life, science was her religion. Not just occupationally, but she used it every day. Logic, reason, and science had never betrayed her.

Until now.

Until the inner workings of the human body had turned against her in a way that was worse than she being the one inflicted with a disease.

Dimly, she could hear the doctor talking softly in the background, and it wasn't until Booth gently poked her arm that she snapped back to the present.

"…chemotherapy is the standard treatment. Of course, we would regulate the amount based on your son's age and size…"

"He'd have to go through chemotherapy?" Brennan heard herself ask.

The doctor inclined his head toward her. His nametag read "Dr. Farquad".

"In the case of your son's illness, Dr. Brennan, chemotherapy is a necessary part of the treatment protocol. The dosage will be fitted to accommodate his age, of course, but it is a crucial part of saving your son's life."

"Hey, sweetie." A large woman in a white suit entered the room. "I need to put an IV in that tiny arm, okay hon?"

"He hates needles," Brennan whispered softly.

The nurse placed a comforting hand on Brennan's shoulder.

"I know, honey, but we have to start the chemo."

Just the word made Brennan's stomach turn. The nurse must have noticed, because the next thing Brennan knew, she had a bedpan under her mouth and Booth stroking her hair, as she emptied what little she had been able to force down today.

The vomiting lasted what felt like forever, and as she sunk to the floor with the bedpan, Brennan lifted her hand to wipe the perspiration from her forehead. Her hand touched wetness on her cheeks, and Brennan drew it back in shock. She hadn't even been aware of the tears.

But they were coming now, stronger than ever. Sobs overtook her, until she finally quit retching and turned her face into Booth's shoulder, muttering incoherently. Booth held her tightly, listening close to catch the murmured words.

"I...I promised him."

"Shh, shhh," Booth soothed. "You promised him what?"

"I promised him," Brennan sobbed. "I promised I would…I would never let anything happen to him."

Brennan's tearful confession tore at Booth.

"Oh, honey," he whispered, and Brennan was too busy sobbing to protest to the pet name.

"This was _not_ your fault. You couldn't have seen this coming."

"Nothing was supposed to happen to him."

The words escaped on a sob again, and Brennan turned away suddenly, retching again into the bedpan.

Booth looked up to the nurse helplessly. She knelt down by the couple, laying a hand gently on Brennan's back.

"That's one nasty flu you have there, honey."

"Not a flu. Been happening for awhile." Brennan mumbled.

"What?" Booth questioned. He hadn't seen her sick like this in a long time.

"Didn't want to worry you."

"Worry me?" Booth questioned incredulously.

The nurse stroked her hand up and down Brennan's back. "Well, honey, before we make your son better here, we may have to help his mommy too. Let's get you into a bed, and we'll just do a few tests on you. We want you to be healthy to help him."

Brennan gave a few half-hearted protests, but allowed herself to be led into the bed beside Sebastian's. The nurse left and returned quickly with another syringe. She drew blood from Brennan, then made her way back to Sebastian's bed.

"Wait," said Brennan, swinging herself slowly out of the bed.

"He hates needles. Let me hold him while you give it to him."

The nurse smiled kindly and moved aside so Brennan could pick Sebastian up. She nestled him close to her chest, hiding his face in her shoulder. When they both were positioned, she nodded to the nurse ( "Latricia", according to her nametag.)

Latricia gently took her son's hand and guided the needle under the skin. Sebastian squirmed suddenly, so she tightened her grip on his wrist.

Sebastian let out a wail, trying to push away from Brennan, but she held tight to him, keeping his head at her shoulder.

"It's okay, baby. It's okay. It'll be over in a second," she murmured, feeling like a liar. This wouldn't be over before her little son had to suffer in a way that Brennan couldn't fix.

Latricia finished the IV as quickly as she could and set Sebastian's arm down.

"Alright, little man, all done."

She hung the bag of clear liquid on the IV pole and with a reassuring smile, slipped from the room.

Brennan sat down beside Booth at Sebastian's bedside. Booth looped his arm around her and she settled her head against his shoulder, exhaustion seeping in.

She stared hard at the dripping fluid in the plastic bag. At the poison dripping into her two-year-old, poison that would suck his energy, rob him of his hair and make him vomit constantly. She stared long and hard, wishing with everything in her that this was just a bad dream, however irrational it sounded.

Brennan had thought she could cry no more today, but somehow she still found herself with wetness leaking down her cheeks. Booth gently brushed them away with his thumb, but still more fell. No words were spoken. No words were necessary.

Brennan and Booth stood watch over their son's bed, silent and sad, guardian angels incapable of protection against an invisible enemy.

****

**Reviews pleassse!**

**Mandyfur123, I hate to insult chocolate, believe me :P, but I had to. Sorry, I love kids and I hate to think of them having cancer, but such is life… thanks for the review, it made me laugh!**

**xBSBxBONESx, it is a rather long name isn't it? I can't think of any nicknames that don't sound weird…. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It's been forever, but I have excuses! Actually, one excuse: university. Insane class loads don't allow for much time, and when you're writing paper after paper, creative energy kind of goes out the window. Still, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

The chemo quickly took its toll on the child. He slept frequently, rarely had the energy to leave his bed when awake and patches of his skin turned red and raw. Sebastian squirmed in pain constantly and Brennan could do nothing more than rub cream on the sores and sit holding her son's hand while he slept. The doctors had said that so far, however horrid the symptoms seemed to Brennan, they were fairly mild so far.

On this mild Tuesday evening, Brennan sat on the child's bed, reading him his favorite story. She had convinced Booth he needed to go back to work, but had refused to go back herself. Three years ago, someone had to force her out of the lab every day. Now, she couldn't imagine being there while her son lay alone in a hospital bed. Brennan rarely went home anymore, to the point where the hospital was becoming a second home. The nurses brought in a fold-out chair for her, and the only time Brennan went home was to shower and change once every day or two. Sebastian's doctor had assured Brennan it would inevitably get worse before it got better, but every cough, every retch, and every rash tore at Brennan. On this particular day, Brennan sat beside the toddler, waiting for Booth. The nurse who had taken her lab results was due to return with them today, and Brennan didn't want to hear the results without him.

Suddenly, Sebastian jolted in his bed. His hand flew to his mouth.

"Mama-" he choked out, and Brennan barely managed to find a bedpan and shove it under his mouth before Sebastian vomited. Brennan stroked his back and smoothed his hair back as he retched again and again, not missing the tears working his way down his cheeks. As soon as he finished, Brennan pulled the toddlers into her arms. Sebastian buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed, and Brennan's arms tightened around him.

Brennan jumped as she felt a hand on her back, but settled quickly as she heard Booth's reassuring voice.

"What happened, Bones?"

"He threw up," Brennan mumbled, her face buried in Sebastian's hair. With a sigh, Booth sat down beside his partner and pulled her to him, resting his chin in her shoulder. He felt her sigh heavily.

"We...we're going to get through this, right? All of us?" Brennan asked, her voice quavering so much that Booth barely recognized it.

"Oh honey..." Booth kissed his wife on the cheek gently. "Whatever happens to us, we will deal with together."

Brennan took a shuddering breath in. "How do you manage to make everything seem better?"

Booth smiled gently. "I'm the husband. That's my job."

After a long pause, Brennan reached one of her hands out and laced her fingers with Booth's, as he slowly rocked her and Sebastian back and forth.

------

As Nurse Latricia entered the room, there were lab results waiting to be shared in her hands. The parents would want to know right away of what the labs had showed. _Such a nice couple_, she thought. _Them and their little boy. They don't deserve this load on them._

As she made her way through the doorway, her eyes fell upon Mr. Booth and Ms. Brennan. They were lying together in the little boy's bed, the child in her arms, slowly rocking. Ms. Brennan's head was tucked into Mr. Booth's shoulder, and little Sebastian was sleeping against his mother's chest. It was such a peaceful scene that she hated to disturb them. So for several moments, all she did was watch. _Let them have their moment_, she thought, _before we put this on them too._

---------

A soft knock at the door made Brennan start up from Booth's arms. The nurse, the one who had been so gentle to Sebastian and so kind to them, was standing at the doorway, file in hand. Brennan knew she couldn't read people as well as Booth could, but by the look on the nurse's face, she could tell Latricia had something important to say. She moved out of Booth's embrace just long enough to lay her little boy down on the covers, tucking them in around him to ensure he was warm. Keeping herself situated in Booth's arms, she turned to face the nurse, who smiled kindly at them.

"Hey, honey. I got some lab results for you."

Brennan tensed instinctively. "For Sebastian?"

"No, hon, these are yours."

Booth and Brennan traded a look. Lacing their hands again, they looked up into the nurse's kind face.

"We're listening," said Booth.

Latricia flipped open the folder. "According to these results….Ms. Brennan is about nine weeks pregnant."

The room lapsed into a silenced shock.

Booth and Brennan stared at each other. Moments passed without any words, until finally Booth broke the long silence.

"But…how..."

Latricia chuckled.

"Something tells me you already know the answer to that, honey." She paused. "I know this is a load on top of all you have to deal with right now. I'm sorry about that, really. If either of you ever need anything…"

"Thank you." Brennan whispered. Latricia nodded, and with a reassuring pat on Brennan's shoulder, eased from the room.

As she left, Booth shifted so Brennan was facing him. He looked her over carefully, as if examining her for signs of change. After awhile, his gaze shifted to Brennan's pale face. He put a hand to her cheek gently.

"Whatcha thinkin', Bones?" he asked.

Brennan shifted her teary gaze to him.

"I don't know, Booth. This doesn't seem like a good time to have more children, don't you think?"

Booth shrugged. "Is any time a good time, Bones?"

He got no response. "Bones…you're not thinking of…"

"No!" Brennan said adamantly. "I just…I don't know if I can handle this baby and Sebastian too on my own."

Booth lifted her chin with two fingers. "I got news for you, Bones. You're not alone. You'll never be alone. You'll always have me."

His words earned him a watery smile, and Brennan shifted herself into her earlier position against him. Booth's hand came to rest on her stomach, and he smiled, imagining the future as his exhausted wife drifted to sleep against him. He imagined a time in the future with a new, bigger house, maybe a dog, school nearby, and most importantly, Bones and two happy, healthy children.

However, big obstacles stood in the way of this dream. So many that Booth had to wonder: would it ever be so?

**A/N#2: So aside from the ending, pretty satisfied with this chapter. I also love the character of the nurse. I know many people who have spent long periods of time in the hospital, and their nurses have been invaluable to them, so I wanted to have a character like that.**

**Enjoy and please review!!**


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